Cecy Robson - Cursed By Destiny

“I’m not moving back. If someone or something is trying to kill me, I want to keep it as far away from you as possible.” I tried taking a bite of my waffle. It was cold and suddenly didn’t taste as sweet. “Misha wouldn’t be investing so much time in me just to off me later.”

“No, but he would to bang you.” Bren didn’t mince words nor did he apologize. He continued to dig into his plate. “Keep your eyes open, kid. Murderous psychos aren’t the only thing you need to worry about in vamp camp.”

“Son of a bitch. Is this shit real?” Taran opened her presents the moment Bren swallowed his last bite of food. She’d gone insane over the car. The shopping spree from all of us had floored her, and you could have heard a pin drop when she pulled the necklace from its velvet case.

Emme shook her head. “Maybe they’re Austrian crystals.”

I played with my hair. “Knowing Misha, they’re real diamonds.” I explained about Agnes and Edith’s naughty ways and how Misha had chosen to punish them. That made everyone else, with the exception of Gemini, more accepting of the gifts. Taran immediately clasped it around her neck. As with everything else, it looked stunning on her.

Shayna shielded her eyes as if blinded by the dazzling necklace. “Holy sparkling rocks, Batman,” she said.

Taran admired her reflection in the hall mirror. “Damn. You can say that again.” Another small velvet box remained. Gemini snatched it off the table and shoved it into his pocket. I noticed, and so did Taran. “Babe, what are you doing?”

“It’s nothing. I’ll take it back.”

Taran frowned and strutted to his side. “Let me see it.”

Gemini reluctantly gave the little red box to her and we watched as she opened it. Taran pulled out a beautiful silver cross with a single diamond set in the center. Emme and Shayna stepped closer, smiling. The silver necklace sparkled despite the dim lighting in our family room.

“It’s so pretty,” Emme said quietly.

I leaned forward to get a better look. “It’s engraved.” I grinned when I saw the lettering. “Taran, read what it says.”

Taran’s eyes brimmed with tears. “It says . . . ‘ Mi Bella Taran,’” she whispered softly.

Gemini had engraved it in Spanish, a tribute to our mother’s Latin heritage.

“What does that mean?” Koda asked.

Gemini’s face mimicked the color of his burgundy sweater. “My beautiful Taran.” His gaze swept to her. “I wanted to get you a ring . . . but I know you’re not ready for that.”

Taran’s actions spoke louder than any words she could have uttered. She removed Misha’s necklace and tossed it to Shayna. Tears streamed down her face as she placed the cross around her neck and threw her arms around Gemini. “It’s the most beautiful gift anyone has ever given me,” she whispered. Taran had dated many men. But she had never found true kindness or love until she met Tomo “Gemini” Hamamatsu.

Gem murmured in her ear, “Happy birthday.”

The rest of us returned to our seats in an effort to ignore the heat from Taran’s thank-you.

“Do you mind if I try on your other necklace?” Shayna asked.

Taran snuggled against Gemini. “I don’t care—”

She jerked away from Gemini, stumbling back against the wall. Gem grabbed her to keep from falling as her irises bleached to white. Everyone tensed. The wolves and I jumped to our feet, straining to detect something with our preternatural senses. Nothing registered except the frantic efforts of my tigress, struggling to free herself from within.

Emme clutched Liam’s arm. “What is it, Taran? What’s here?”

Taran’s voice lowered to a deep, unrecognizable rasp. “ Tribemaster .”

If Webster’s published a supernatural equivalent of a dictionary it would define Tribemasters as “the deadly and highly intelligent offspring of a demon father and a powerful witch mother, capable of producing spawn with predatory instincts who feed on human flesh” or “supernatural evildoers in charge of a large group of Tribesmen.” They might even include an illustration of Noah Webster himself screaming and sprinting away from said evildoer.

I had the nightmarish displeasure of meeting a Tribemaster when the Tribe emerged several months back. He thought my sisters and I had the perfect wombs to bear his children. He also pummeled three pack Elders and Misha’s maker, Uri, and he beat the unholy snot out of me and tore off Misha’s arms. I managed to punch a hole in his head and rip out his brain, only because his claws were busy skewering Aric.

We didn’t sense anything at first, until the ground began to tremble. There was a loud squishing sound, similar to someone pulling his or her galoshes out of the mud.

“Oh, shit. That can’t be good,” Bren said.

“Celia, get your sisters and— Where the hell is Shayna?” Koda’s head whipped around, searching for his mate.

Shayna barreled down the stairs, holding the sapphire- encrusted daggers Misha had once gifted her and Taran’s necklace fastened around her neck. Silver light streaked from platinum facets and into her arms. The diamonds glimmered in a burst of light as Shayna’s power transformed the daggers into long and deadly swords.

Squish, squash, squish.

Gemini stalked toward the door. “It’s getting closer. Everyone outside— now! ”

“I don’t want Shayna involved,” Koda growled.

Gemini furrowed his brows. “There’s no choice, Koda. It’s too late to get them to safety.”

Shayna jetted past me, her determination tensing her slender frame while fear blanched her face. She was spooked. And yet there she was the first one out the door. Koda and I bolted after her. I didn’t understand her need to race ahead of us, especially given her blatant terror. I stopped short of plowing into her when she stumbled to a halt on the snowy front lawn. She froze, her focus glued toward the sloping entrance of our neighborhood.

I froze, too, when I saw what had crashed the party. Oh, hell no.

What appeared to be a giant maggot, the size of a city bus, slithered and crept its way along our cul-de-sac in wet and small slimy bounces.

Gemini rushed to my side. “Taran,” he growled, “put the neighbors to sleep—as many as you can. No one else needs to see this.”

I wished she could have done the same for me. The thing looked nasty. I didn’t remember Buffy having to deal with this shit.

Taran stepped forward, releasing ribbons of blue and white mist from her core. They spread like widening translucent streamers encasing the neighborhood in a light fog. Unfortunately for Mrs. Mancuso, that was the moment she chose to storm out of her house to harass us. “ Taran Wird! What in the name of sin are you up to?” Mrs. Mancuso’s eyes crossed the moment she inhaled Taran’s mist. She flipped over the porch railing and landed in her hedges, snoring the moment her orthopedic shoes hit the lawn. It was a tense moment, yet one that couldn’t stifle Taran’s chuckle.

The wolves changed and prowled toward the Tribemaster. Danny, the pack’s newest werewolf, awkwardly followed suit. Poor guy, he hadn’t signed up to go furry. Bren had turned him following a near-death battle a few months back. The others moved with predatory grace, their heads lowered and their ears pinned back. Their actions promised a vicious assault and a battle to the death. Poor Danny just concentrated hard to put one paw in front of the other. The giant larva lifted his wobbly head when he saw them approach, though his eyes weren’t visible through the rolls of pale gray flesh. His voice sounded wet, garbled, and sinister as his giant lips peeled back to reveal a mouthful of serrated fangs. “ Bring me Celia Wird and I might let you live .”